Govt to prefer bilateral aid for flood-hit people
Says foreign adviser
Staff Correspondent
Bangladesh might consider bilateral help for flood-affected people rather than going through the United Nations (UN), if the government later decides to call for aid from foreign governments, said Foreign Adviser Iftekhar A Chowdhury yesterday.Blaming climate change for the increased frequency of floods, the foreign adviser said Bangladesh is looking to gear up its efforts in urging key global players to spearhead mitigating the effects of climate change. "It is difficult to generate the required response from a global appeal unless it is a large-scale and grave disaster," said Iftekhar when he was asked at a foreign ministry press briefing whether Dhaka would appeal for foreign aid through the UN. Iftekhar said seeking foreign assistance bilaterally is more effective than receiving pledges at a large UN meeting, because of a "global donor fatigue" from worldwide demand for emergency aid in Sudan's Darfur region, Iraq and Afghanistan. But, the foreign adviser maintained that the government is keeping its options open for three possible windows, which are through the UN's New York or Geneva offices, the local UN Development Program (UNDP) office, or through bilateral understandings. During the 2004 floods, the UN had made a global "flash appeal" for $210 million. They, however, received only 23.3 percent or $48.5 million from donors worldwide until November 2004, according to UN figures. The government will not appeal to foreign governments for flood-relief at present as they maintained that state resources are adequate to provide relief to flood-affected people, said Iftekher. He added, "If any government wants to provide flood-relief, we would not refuse their help." Until yesterday, four countries had provided flood relief, including $2.5 million from Britain, 250,000 Canadian Dollars from Canada, and another $100,000 from Turkey. Germany has also provided $680,000 through the UN's World Food Program (WFP). Iftekhar said at least two other countries are interested in donating funds for flood-relief. Regarding Bangladesh's climate change, the foreign adviser said Chief Adviser Fakhruddin Ahmed will participate in the high-level debate on climate change at UN's New York headquarters on September 24, while the environment adviser will participate on a global conference on climate change at Bali, Indonesia in December.
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